Grantee

Natasha Agrawal, an educator with two decades of experience, holds a Master’s degree in education from The College of New Jersey (2009) and another in English Literature and World History from the University of Delhi, India. Currently, she serves as an instructor at Carroll Robbins Elementary School, supporting K-5 students who are refugees and immigrants. Additionally, she works as an adjunct instructor at The College of New Jersey, guiding graduate courses focused on language acquisition, curriculum development, and teaching methodology. As a Fulbright Distinguished Awards in Teaching Short Term (DAST) Program grantee, Natasha will be hosted by the Gurukul Academy in Dhangadhi, where she will share her expertise in literacy strategies, encompassing English reading and writing, phonics, comprehension skills, and critical thinking skills with the staff. 

Natasha’s dedication to education has been recognized with the Teacher of the Year Award three times. She has participated in prestigious Department of State Programs, including the Teachers for Global Classrooms Program in Morocco (2018) and serving as an English Language Fellow in Egypt (2019-2020). In 2021, Natasha served as the Virtual English Language Specialist for Mexico, providing online training to elementary teachers across the country. As a presenter, Natasha has shared her expertise at TESOL International conferences in Philadelphia, Baltimore, Pittsburgh (2022), and Portland (2023). 

Lisa Wittner, an educator with twenty-eight years of experience, holds a Bachelor of Arts (BA) in Political Science from Vassar College and a Master of Arts (MA) in Somatic Psychology from Naropa University. Now serving as the Director of Social and Emotional Learning at the Dwight-Englewood School in Englewood, New Jersey, Lisa teaches courses in adolescent development, equity and social justice, mental health and wellness, and peer mentorship. As a Fulbright Distinguished Awards in Teaching Short Term (DAST) Program grantee, she will be hosted by the New Tulips’ School, Koteshwor where she will support educators and administrators in developing and deepening their social-emotional learning (SEL) skills, designing and implementing SEL programming for middle and upper school students, and establishing peer-to-peer mentor programs. 

Aside from her teaching career, Lisa is also a dancer and has been studying Afro-Brazilian dance for the past thirty years. She currently performs with Batala New York, an all-women Brazilian Dance and Drum ensemble based in New York with chapters all over the world.